General Contractor in Cedar City, Utah for New Homes, Additions, and Remodels
Cedar Breaks Construction is a licensed and insured general contractor and construction company working in Cedar City and across Iron County. Todd Fowler owns the company and runs every job, so the person who writes your estimate is the person on your site and the person who picks up the phone. Free estimates, itemized in writing, no obligation.
Full-service general contracting, start to finish
A general contractor runs the whole job instead of handing you a stack of phone numbers. Plans, permits, subcontractors, materials, inspections, schedule, and the final punch list all sit with us, and one person is accountable from the first walkthrough to the last item on that list. Here is what we build in Cedar City and across Iron County, and you can see our full range of general contracting services on one page.
New Home Construction
As a custom home builder in Cedar City, we build from the ground up: on lots inside city limits, on the bench east of town, and out on acreage in unincorporated Iron County. Work from your plans, or we help you get a set drawn, then we run the full build. Site work, footings and foundation, framing, mechanicals, envelope, finishes, and final inspection. One schedule, one itemized budget, and one contractor answering for the result.
New home construction in Cedar CityHome Additions
You are out of room and you like where you live. We design and build additions that tie into the existing structure and meet current Utah code: another bedroom, a bigger kitchen, a second story, an in-law suite, or a garage. The part that matters is not the drywall. It is matching the roofline and the siding so the addition reads as original from the street, and getting the new footing and the structural connection right so it does not settle on its own schedule.
Home additions and second storiesRemodeling
Kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and whole-home remodels. We handle demo, structural changes, plumbing and electrical, cabinetry, and finish work, and we pull the permit when the scope calls for one. When we open a wall in an older Cedar City house and find something nobody priced, you hear about it that day and you approve the change before we keep going. We protect the rest of the house and we clean the site every day, not on Friday, because you are still living there.
Kitchen, bath, and whole-home remodelingCommercial Construction
Tenant improvements, build-outs, and ground-up commercial projects for Cedar City and Iron County businesses. Commercial work here runs on the 2024 International Building Code rather than the residential code, with its own plan review and inspection track. We sequence the trades around the inspection calendar instead of hoping they line up on their own, because we understand what it costs you to open late.
Commercial construction and tenant improvementsSeasonal Cabin Maintenance
Cedar City is the supply town for the cabin country above it, and a lot of that property sits empty for months at a time. We close cabins down for winter and open them back up. Water lines drained and blown out before the first hard freeze, roofs and decks checked after a heavy snow year, storm damage looked at, and a call with photos when something needs a decision from you. Useful if you own at Brian Head or Duck Creek Village and you do not live here year round.
Seasonal cabin maintenance in the high country
Todd Fowler runs every job himself
Call (435) 710-8485 and you get Todd Fowler, owner of Cedar Breaks Construction. Not a salesperson working a commission, not a coordinator who has never stood on your property. Todd walks the site, writes the estimate, lines up the subs, meets the inspector, and does the final walkthrough with you.
That matters more than it sounds like it should. Most of what goes wrong on a residential project is not craftsmanship. It is a decision that got made three trades ago that nobody wrote down and nobody passed along. One person carrying the whole job start to finish is the cheapest quality control there is.
It also means we take on the amount of work we can actually run. If we are not the right fit for your timeline, you will hear that on the first call instead of six weeks in.
For the record, because the name causes confusion: Cedar Breaks Construction is not affiliated with Cedar Breaks National Monument or the National Park Service.
More about Todd Fowler
What you get with Cedar Breaks Construction
A general contractor is only as good as their build and their word. Here is what you get with us.
Quality you can stand on.
We build square, level, and to code, and we spec materials that hold up to a Cedar City winter. We do not cut corners in the places that get covered up, because those are the ones that come back.
We build for Cedar City conditions.
Roughly 5,800 feet of elevation, close to four feet of snow in an average year, and January lows around 18 degrees change how a house has to go together. Footings, roof framing, and insulation get sized for that, not for a St. George climate fifty miles south.
One contractor, start to finish.
You are not chasing five trades and a designer. We manage the subs, the permits, the materials, and the schedule, and we own the outcome when something goes sideways.
Clear communication.
A real schedule, an itemized budget, and a heads-up before anything changes. You should never have to guess where your project stands or who to call about it.
Licensed and insured, and we will hand you both.
Licensed and insured. Ask any contractor for proof and confirm it is current before you sign. Licensed on a website is a word until somebody hands you the paper.
We finish.
The punch list gets worked, not deferred. Nothing on it gets closed out because we ran out of patience for it.
What building in Cedar City actually involves
Cedar City sits in Cedar Valley at roughly 5,800 feet, on the seam between the Basin and Range and the Colorado Plateau. Ground conditions change fast between the valley floor and the bench east of town, and the design criteria the city publishes are stricter than what the same house would be built to fifty miles south in St. George. Cedar City puts these numbers on its own website, and any builder working here should have read them before drawing a line.
Footings below a 30 inch frost line.
Cedar City publishes a frost depth of 30 inches in its building design standards. Footings and exterior flatwork get designed and poured below it, no exceptions and no shortcuts on a cold-weather pour. Get it wrong and the freeze and thaw cycle moves the foundation a little every winter. You do not find that out in year one. You find it out in year three, in the drywall. Frost depth outside city limits is set by Iron County, so confirm the number for your specific lot rather than assuming the city figure carries.
Snow load figured for your site, not guessed.
Cedar City does not publish one citywide ground snow load. Its design standards send you to the Utah ground snow load tool that Utah State University maintains for a value at your specific address, and roof snow load is set from there by the design professional on your plans. That is not the city being vague. The ground climbs fast east of town and the real number changes with the address. Anyone who quotes you a single citywide figure off the top of their head is guessing, and the roof is not where you want a guess.
Wind at 90 MPH, with a 115 MPH gust.
Those are the figures Cedar City publishes, along with Exposure B. They drive sheathing, nailing schedules, hold-downs, and how the roof structure ties down to the walls and the walls tie down to the foundation. Wind design is invisible in a finished house and expensive to correct after the fact.
Seismic Design Category D1.
Cedar City sits in Seismic Design Category D1 per its own published design criteria. In practice that means anchor bolts, hold-downs, shear walls, and bracing get engineered and inspected rather than eyeballed. A plan set drawn for a low seismic zone does not automatically pass up here.
Climate Zone 5B, not 3B.
Utah's energy code puts Iron County in IECC Climate Zone 5B. Washington County, fifty miles south on I-15, is 3B. That is not a small distinction. It means a tighter envelope, more insulation, and a different window package than the same plan would need in St. George. Build it to the St. George standard up here and you pay for that every month on the power bill. Residential work here is built to the 2021 International Residential Code, adopted statewide by Utah.
Cedar Valley ground gets tested, not assumed.
The Utah Geological Survey has documented collapsible soils, flooding, and earth fissures across the Cedar City area, and its 2026 hazard study for the Cedar City, Enoch, and Kanarraville area identifies collapsible soils and flooding as historically the costliest hazards in this valley. An earlier UGS study measured as much as four feet of ground subsidence and at least 8.3 miles of earth fissures across roughly 100 square miles of Cedar Valley, and recommends a hazard investigation before development. Collapsible soil carries weight fine while it is dry and settles when it gets wet. That is a geotechnical question you answer before you pour, not a claim you file after.
None of this is meant to scare anybody off. It is the normal cost of building at elevation, and all of it is knowable before you spend real money. We cover more of it on our page about building conditions and permits in Cedar City.
Permits in Cedar City and unincorporated Iron County
Which office issues your permit depends on which side of the city line your lot sits on, and people get this wrong constantly.
Inside Cedar City limits, permits and inspections go through the Cedar City Building and Zoning Department at 10 N. Main Street. Outside city limits, in unincorporated Iron County, they go through the Iron County Building and Zoning Department at 82 N. 100 East. Both offices are physically in Cedar City, which is convenient and also exactly why the two get confused.
The line is not always where people assume it is. Cedar Highlands, the subdivision on the bench east of town at about 7,800 feet, is unincorporated. It briefly incorporated as a town in 2018, then voted to dissolve in 2020 and went back to county status that October. A custom home up there permits through Iron County, not Cedar City, and the site conditions at that elevation are a different problem than a lot near Main Street.
Both offices work off the same residential code. Utah adopted the 2021 International Residential Code as the statewide construction code, and Cedar City's adopted codes page confirms it along with Appendix Q. Commercial runs the 2024 International Building Code and electrical runs the 2023 National Electrical Code, so residential and commercial are on different code cycles here, which catches people off guard. We handle the permit application, the plan review corrections, and the inspection schedule as part of the job. You should not have to learn either counter.
Ask us about your lot
A clear process keeps your project on schedule and on budget
Four stages. You always know which one you are in, you always know what happens next, and you know what it costs before anything gets dug or torn out. You can request a free estimate any time and we start at stage one.
Walk the site and price the work.
We meet you at the lot or at the house. We look at access, slope, what is already standing, and where power and water actually are. Then you get a free itemized estimate broken out by scope, materials, and allowances, with a plain list of what is not included, so you can set it next to another bid and compare the same work instead of comparing two bottom-line numbers. No charge, no obligation, and nobody calls you every Tuesday for a month.
Design, permits, and schedule.
We lock down scope, materials, and selections, get the drawings and any geotechnical work in order, and submit to Cedar City or to Iron County depending on which side of the line your property sits on. Then we build a schedule with real dates on it that accounts for a Cedar City building season. You sign off on all three before anything gets dug or torn out.
Build and inspect.
We run the trades, the material orders, and the inspection sequence, and we keep the site clean at the end of every day. You get regular updates and one point of contact the whole way, not a phone tree. When something changes, you hear it from us before it costs you anything.
Walkthrough and handoff.
We walk the finished project with you, build the punch list together, and work it. You can reach us Monday through Saturday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, at (435) 710-8485.
What moves the price on a Cedar City build
We are not going to put a per-square-foot number on this page, because anyone who does is either guessing or quoting a house that is not yours. Two homes the same size on two Cedar City lots can price very differently. These are the six variables that actually move it, and we walk every one of them with you before you get a number.
The lot.
Slope, access, utilities, and how far power and water have to come are the single biggest swing on a new build. A flat infill lot inside Cedar City limits and a view lot on the bench are two different projects even with the same plan on top of them.
What the soil report says.
If the geotechnical report comes back with collapsible soil or a subsidence concern, the foundation design changes and so does the number. That is why we want the report early. Finding it out at excavation is the expensive version.
Design complexity.
Rooflines, corners, spans, ceiling heights, and window counts cost more than floor area does. A simple house and a complicated house of the same size are not the same bid, and that is exactly where per-square-foot math falls apart.
Finish level.
Cabinets, counters, flooring, tile, windows, and fixtures are where budgets move fastest, and they are the part you control. We build allowances into the estimate so you can see what a selection change costs before you make it.
Timing and lead times.
Cedar City has a real building season. Excavation, concrete, and drying in a roof all have weather windows, and a late start can push work into a stretch where the same job costs more. Material lead times matter too. Early decisions are cheaper decisions.
Changes, and how we handle them.
Every project changes. What costs money is a change nobody wrote down. Ours go in writing with a price attached before the work happens, so the budget you approved and the invoice you get still resemble each other.
How to check out a general contractor, including us
Hiring a general contractor is one of the larger checks most people ever write, and you should not have to take anyone's word for it, ours included. Here is what to ask any builder bidding your Cedar City project, and exactly how we answer.
Ask for the license and the insurance certificates.
Any general contractor working in Utah should hold a current license and carry insurance on the work. Ask for the paperwork, not the adjective. Contractor licensing in Utah is handled at the state level and the records are public through the Utah Division of Professional Licensing, so you can check every bid you are holding rather than taking anyone's word for it. If a builder gets vague on this question, that is the answer.
Ask about reviews, then ask what a star average proves.
Here is ours, straight. You will not find star ratings, testimonials, or review counts anywhere on this site, because we are not going to write them ourselves. Reviews are worth reading when they are real, and a builder with forty of them earned that. What you can do with us instead is ask for references and actually call them, ask whether there is a job you can walk, and read the estimate line by line. That is more information than a star average gives you anyway. Here is how we handle references and reviews.
Ask who is actually on your job.
Ask three things: who runs the schedule, who meets the inspector, and who actually picks up when something goes wrong on site. On our jobs the answer to all three is Todd Fowler, the owner, at (435) 710-8485. Ask the other bidders the same three questions and pay attention to how long the answer takes.
Ask what they are building to, specifically.
A builder who works here should know, without looking it up, whether your address permits through the Cedar City office on Main Street or the Iron County office on 100 East. He should also know the city publishes a 30 inch frost depth, and that roof snow load is set from a site-specific ground snow load value. If those answers do not come easily, they have not run a job in this valley.
Ask to walk a job in progress.
A finished kitchen photographs well no matter who built it. Framing, rough-in, flashing details, and what a site looks like at 4:30 on a Thursday tell you far more. Ask to walk an active job before you sign anything. If we have one running, we will take you through it, and you can see the types of work we take on first.
Get the estimate in writing, itemized.
A real estimate breaks out scope, materials, allowances, and exclusions so you can compare two bids on the same terms. A one-line number is not a bid, it is an opening position. Ours are free, itemized, in writing, and carry no obligation to move forward.
Cedar City, Iron County, and the towns around them
Cedar City is our primary market. It is the largest city in Iron County and accounts for close to 65 percent of the county's population, so most of the building that happens in this county happens here. We work the surrounding towns too, and you can see our full Southern Utah service area for the complete list. If you are not sure whether we cover your address, or whether your parcel is inside city limits or out in unincorporated Iron County, call (435) 710-8485 and ask. We will tell you straight.
Cedar City and Iron County
Cedar City, Parowan, and Brian Head, plus the unincorporated county in between. Parowan, not Cedar City, is the Iron County seat, which matters for some county business but not for permits: the Iron County Building and Zoning office is here in Cedar City. Brian Head sits near 9,800 feet and is the highest town in Utah, which changes almost everything about how a building goes up there.
Hatch, Panguitch, and Duck Creek Village
We also work in Hatch and the Garfield County high country, including Panguitch, and in Duck Creek Village. Cabin work up there is its own trade. Access, snow, and freeze protection are different problems than a job in town. If you are that direction, start with our page for a general contractor in Hatch, Utah.
St. George and Washington County
We take work in St. George, about fifty miles southwest on I-15, and the surrounding Washington County towns. Different climate zone, different envelope requirements, same standard of work. See our page for a general contractor in St. George.
Questions homeowners ask before they hire a general contractor
Straight answers to what we get asked most, including the cost question most contractor websites dodge. If yours is not here, call (435) 710-8485 and ask it.
Do I need a permit to build a house in Cedar City?
Yes. Any new house needs a building permit, and so do most additions, structural changes, decks, detached garages, accessory buildings, utility upgrades, and a good share of remodels. Inside city limits the permit comes from the Cedar City Building and Zoning Department on North Main Street. Outside city limits, in unincorporated Iron County, it comes from the Iron County Building and Zoning Department on 100 East. Both offices are physically in Cedar City, which surprises people.
Who pulls the permit, you or me?
We do. Permits are part of a general contractor's job, not an errand handed back to the homeowner. We prepare and submit the plans, carry the permit, handle plan review corrections, schedule the inspections in the right sequence, and meet the inspector on site. You should still know which department your job falls under, because it affects your timeline, and we tell you that at the estimate.
Does a contractor need a license in Cedar City, Utah?
Contractor licensing in Utah is handled at the state level, not by the city. The city and the county then require permits and inspections on the work itself. Cedar Breaks Construction is licensed and insured. Utah licensing records are public through the Utah Division of Professional Licensing, so you can check any bid you are holding rather than taking anyone's word for it.
What insurance should a general contractor in Cedar City carry?
At minimum, general liability and workers compensation. General liability covers damage to your property while the work is happening. Workers compensation covers the people working on your property, and that one matters to you directly, because when a contractor does not carry it an injured worker's claim can end up pointed at the homeowner. Ask every bidder for current certificates showing the policy period, not a photo of an old card, and check that the coverage is current on the date your job actually starts.
What building code does Cedar City use for houses?
The 2021 International Residential Code. Utah adopted the 2021 IRC as the statewide construction code, and Cedar City's own adopted codes page confirms it, including Appendix Q. Commercial work in the city runs on the 2024 International Building Code and electrical runs on the 2023 National Electrical Code, so residential and commercial are on different code cycles here. The adopted list does change, so we confirm which edition is in force at permit time rather than assuming last year's answer still holds.
How do you build for Cedar City's climate and soil?
By reading what the city publishes instead of guessing. Cedar City sits at roughly 5,800 feet, gets close to four feet of snow in an average year, and falls in IECC Climate Zone 5B, a colder envelope requirement than Washington County's 3B. The city publishes a 30 inch frost depth, a 90 MPH design wind with a 115 MPH gust, Exposure B, and Seismic Design Category D1, and ground snow load is pulled site by site from the Utah snow load study tool with roof load set by the design professional. On top of that, Cedar Valley has documented collapsible soils, so a geotechnical report belongs early rather than after excavation.
How much does it cost to build a house in Cedar City?
There is no honest single answer, and a per-square-foot number pulled off a website is close to meaningless for your project. The lot, the soil report, the design complexity, the finish level, and the timing move the number more than floor area does. Collapsible soils and subsidence are documented hazards in this valley, and the engineering that answers them is not captured by any square-foot figure. What we can do is walk your lot and your plans and give you a free itemized estimate with scope, materials, allowances, and exclusions broken out, so you can compare it against another bid line by line.
Do I need to own land before I call you?
No, and it is often better to call before you buy. Slope, access, utilities, soil, and whether the lot is inside Cedar City limits or in unincorporated Iron County all affect what a house costs to put on it. In Cedar Valley the lot itself can move a budget more than the finish package does. We would rather look at two lots with you and tell you which one is actually cheaper than explain it to you afterward.
Do you build outside Cedar City limits, on the bench or on acreage?
Yes. Work outside city limits permits through Iron County instead of Cedar City, and it usually brings its own list: driveway access and grade, well and septic instead of city utilities, getting power to the site, and winter access at elevation. Cedar Highlands, for example, sits at about 7,800 feet and is unincorporated, so that is a county permit and a very different site plan than a lot in town. We put those items on the estimate at the start instead of discovering them in month two.
Can you work with my architect, or with plans I already have?
Yes. If you have a stamped set, we build from it. We are also glad to sit in during design so somebody is checking constructability and budget while the drawings are still easy to change, and that one habit prevents more change orders than anything else we do. If you do not have a designer yet, we can point you toward people who draw plans in this market.
How far ahead should I call if I want to build?
Earlier than most people think. Design, engineering, soil work, and plan review all happen before a single permit is issued, and Cedar City has a real building season that governs when excavation and concrete can go in. If you have a target move-in date, call and we will work backward from it and tell you honestly whether it is realistic.
What happens after the job is finished?
We walk the finished project with you and build the punch list together, then we work it. We are reachable Monday through Saturday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at (435) 710-8485. You should be able to call the person who built your house a year later and get an answer.
Ready to build in Cedar City?
Tell us about your project and we will put together a free, itemized estimate. New home, addition, remodel, commercial build, or a cabin that needs somebody keeping an eye on it, anywhere from Cedar City out through Iron County and Southern Utah. We work Monday through Saturday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Todd Fowler is the one you will be dealing with.
